


The Light in the Darkness

by opheliacmoon



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Crushes, F/M, Post-Time Skip, Puppy Love, This might eventually get explicit, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-20 21:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21063623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/opheliacmoon/pseuds/opheliacmoon
Summary: Ashe and Byleth fight their own personal issues while Ashe also fights himself not to blurt out his feelings at any given moment.





	The Light in the Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> I just think Ashe is a sweetie, but this might turn explicit eventually...

Ashe let out a deep breath. He hates walking alone in the dark but he knows he has to get used to it or else he will always be useless to his classmates and worse, useless to her. Just imagining his professor being disappointed in him made his heart tug. He thinks the world of her and had trained so hard to make sure she would always be proud of him, in and out of the battlefield, but when she disappeared, Ashe simply stopped caring. He fought to survive but did nothing to achieve the goals he had set with his professor. Nobody noticed, of course, they were all focused on finding Rhea, Byleth and Dimitri, all working hard to reach their goals, all fighting a war Ashe could not focus on.

Ashe keeps walking with a steady pace, taking long breaths, just like she thought him, ignoring the ominous sounds around him. The sound of a howling wolf in the distance finally snaps Ashe back to reality, to the darkness he was trying so hard to forget. ‘‘I’m not scared’’, he mutters to himself, she is with me. He looks around and notices he is not that far away from her room. She’ll be proud if she sees me out at this hour, he thinks before feeling childish for thinking it. He walks by her door to discover she does not seem to be home, as her light is turned off. He sighs and tells himself he’ll continue his stroll for one more lap of the monastery before going back to his room.

He almost gets tempted to enter the greenhouse just to feel safe for a moment, but he perseveres, continuing his route towards the market. Ashe stops dead in his tracks when he hears muffled cries coming from the pier. He hides behind the fishcart and lets his head peak out a little to see who could be crying at this hour. He sees a woman sitting at the end of the pier, her face in her hands. Is that green hair? His heart skips a beat. ‘‘Professor…’’ he mutters quietly. He wants to run to her and comfort her with every ounce of his being, but something stops him. I’m such a coward. Ashe stays still, but inside, his mind is running wild.

She sobs for a little while, before stopping entirely. She sniffles before slightly turning her head to the right.  
‘‘Ashe, you may be a former thief but your stealth is in need of some work...’’ she says loud enough so he can hear.  
‘‘P-Professor, I’m so sorry, I was working up the courage…’’ his voice shakes.  
‘’‘The courage to do what exactly?’’

This entire interaction feels foreign to him, he has never seen her show this much emotion.Her voice seems cold. It feels like daggers to Ashe who has only seen her be kind and warm. She had this tendency to only show the faintest of smiles when she was amused as if she knew that the world could only withstand so much radiance. Even her anger always felt restrained on the battlefield. As for sadness, she would nod and look down to show sympathy, but never cry to Ashe’s knowledge, at least until now that is.

‘‘That is what I was trying to figure out.’’ he walks towards her. ‘‘I just can’t stand to watch you in pain Profes-’  
’  
‘‘Stop calling me that.’’ her voice was sharp. ‘‘I am no longer your professor. I can no longer teach you and the others anything you have not already figured out on your own due to this horrible war.’’

‘‘Byleth…’’ he felt a sting of unworthiness saying her name like it was any other word ‘‘Is that why you are crying?’’ he finally sits next to her, hoping she will not resent his company.

She sighs, wiping the tears from her face with her sleeves. Slowly regaining her composure, she looks a tad nervous, realizing the situation she is in. 

‘‘Say Ashe, are you still doing laps around the monastery at night, like I suggested all those years ago?’’ she asks, dodging his question.

‘‘Y-Yeah, I’m still trying to get over my fear. The tips you gave me still help a lot.’’ he smiles, but he knows she can spot the sadness behind. ‘‘I have to be honest with you, Prof- Byleth. I stopped training when you disappeared. I was not sure whether I still wanted to be a knight in a world where you were gone. I’m ashamed at how weak I was.’’

‘‘I see.’’ she brings a hand to her chin, looking deep in thought. ‘‘And how do you feel now?’’ 

‘‘I feel it is selfish of me to need your presence to achieve any kind of goal’’ he gazes up at her, with every bit of courage he has left ‘‘I am so grateful that you are back. I want to work hard again, not for your approval, but to become someone I can be proud of.’’

She breaks his gaze, looks down and puts her right hand over his. His heart skips again.

‘‘You might not see it but you have definitely grown a lot, Ashe.’’ she says quietly, almost whispering.

‘‘Byleth… Why were you so sad?’’ he places his thumb over her hand, in hopes she won’t take it away.’’I know it is none of my business, but I cannot bear to see you in this state.’’

‘‘It just feels horrible to finally awaken and see the war is still raging and everyone I care about having to worry about death, betrayal and politics. I feel… powerless.’’’

‘‘I understand. I would give anything to lighten your burden, just please know that even your presence helps everyone greatly. At the very least, when I am with you, I am full of hope for the future.’’ he looks down feeling like he might confess his feelings if he looks at her again.. 

‘‘You give me hope too Ashe.’’ she takes his hand in both of hers, forcing him to look into her eyes. ‘‘Would you mind if I joined you in your nightly walks for a while? I too am afraid of the darkness it seems’’

Ashe nods nervously, feeling the warmth rising in his cheeks. ‘‘It would be my honour Prof- Byleth’’

‘‘We’ll need to work on ridding you of that bad habit. Goodnight Ashe, I’ll see you tomorrow.’’ she smiles, looking much calmer than earlier. She gets up and starts walking in the direction of her room. 

Ashe stares as she leaves and, for a moment, he thinks he sees her look back at him. At least, that is what his mind will imagine when he replays this night over and over in his head tonight.


End file.
